W. Murcott mandarins and Satsuma oranges have potential in Asia

Photo Report Agritrade Guatemala 2017

Last week, Guatemala hosted the 18th edition of Agritrade; a fair that features many sectors. Representing the fruit and vegetable sector, there was a wide range of Guatemalan exhibitors, as well as international companies, including producers…..

Peru: Adex expects the country to overcome rain problems
The president of the Association of Exporters (ADEX), Juan Varilias Velasquez, said he was confident that the governments work, with support from the private sector and the population, would help normalize the situation in the country. He said…..

Chile: Danish chain refuses to import avocados from Petorca
Authorities and leaders of the province of Petorca spoke about a recent announcement made by Danish supermarkets. They are refusing to import avocados from companies that have been sanctioned for usurping water resources in the area.After the…..

Mexico inaugurates the National Phytosanitary Reference Center
The Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA), inaugurated the National Phytosanitary Reference Center, an important tool for protecting the country’s agricultural heritage. The Center, which cost…..

Peru: W. Murcott mandarins and Satsuma oranges have potential in Asia
According to the head of the Association of Citrus Producers from Peru (ProCitrus), Sergio del Castillo Valderrama, mandarins and blueberries are two of the products that Peru has stated will be among its priorities when negotiating an FTA…..

Peru: Producers can’t ship organic bananas because of the rains
Producers from the Viejo de Olmos Valley, in the region of Lambayeque, said some areas were losing their organic banana production because the rains had affected the roads.Segundo Gregorio Morales Sanchez, the president of the Association of…..

Mexico to sell its plantains in China
China will be a new export market for the plantain produced in Mexico.Three months ago, the Chinese government made an inspection visit to the most important production areas, which are located in the states of Colima, Chiapas, and Tabasco.”The…..

Mexico: Oaxaca to export English cucumbers to the US
As part of the work focused on boosting exports of agricultural products from Oaxacan to the United States and other countries, the Ministries of Economy and Development of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture (Sedapa), in coordination with…..

Bolivia wants to stop importing apples from Chile
The Minister of Rural Development and Land, Cesar Cocarico, stated on Thursday that he would develop a strategy to increase the country’s apple production and halt imports from Chile.”We must have an apple production strategy so that we can…..

Mexican researchers use citrus peels for water treatment
Researchers from the University of Granada (UGR), and from the Center for Electrochemical Research and Technological Development and the Center of Engineering and Industrial Development (CIDESI), both in Mexico, have developed a process…..

Special Australia and New Zealand
Lower risk ethylene application for fruit ripening available in Australia
More than forty years ago, Catalytic Generators started out in the US, specializing in the ethylene application for fruit ripening. It has long been the company’s goal to become involved in the ripening of high quality fresh produce in…..

Global Focus Grapes

Maintaining freshness of grapes in-situ
India’s largest multinational flexible packaging materials and solution company, Uflex Limited, has been working with several grape growers internationally to demonstrate the benefits of Flexfresh liner bags.Flexfresh Liners use the natural…..

Befresh Europe: “Potato season lasts until late-June”
Befresh Europe has recently announced that they are expecting a slight delay to their potato season this year. Oron Ziv from Befresh Europe stated that the season would start a week later than usual but expects a good harvest.“Our potato season…..

China: Volpusi’s cherry tomatoes meet high-end demand
“The production of tomatoes in China is mainly situated in the provinces Shandong, Henan, Hebei and a few others. They totally occupy an area of approximately 1 million hectares, ranging from regular to high end production. Furthermore, the…..

Mike de Koster, WDK Onions:
“It’s concerning that there are few sales at this low onion price”
It has been calm on the onion market for weeks. The last published export figures on week 9 indicate an export of less than 12,000 tonnes per week. “It isn’t going. We are running on around 40% of our capacity,” indicates Mike de Kosters of…..

Carlos Llambrich, of Llamfruit:
“Every factor points to a perfect cherry campaign”
The cherry bloom has started earlier in the early production area of Fraga, where it is already clear that the trees will yield a high volume of fruit.”For now, every factor points to a perfect cherry campaign,” states Carlos Llambrich, manager…..

Dimitris Lagios, of Q AgroCulture SA
Greece: “This year, we’ll be able to supply 10% more strawberries”
This year, Greek strawberries have benefitted from the weather conditions. “We’ve had a good weather and especially good temperatures, which has helped increase the quantity of fruit and also its quality,” explains Lagios. Most of the…..

Apanatche Bark and Frederico Stuhr with Pommer Fresh Foods
“Each box of ginger is fully traceable, which is unique”
In 2001, Pommer Commercio International started growing and shipping ginger in Brazil. The family-owned company opened a US branch in 2013 and has been bringing Brazilian ginger to the US since then. “We are the only company in Brazil that…..

High demand expected for Easter & Mother’s Day
California artichoke supply low
Customers wanting to cook with those attractive artichokes better buy up the vegetable while they can and when they spot them in stores. Even European growers, such as Italy, are having issues with volume. “Supplies are on the low side right…..

Pears from Southern Hemisphere complement the domestic category
“Domestic supplies of pears are still plentiful,” says Dan Wohlford with Oneonta Starr Ranch Growers. “We still have green and red D’Anjou as well as Bosc varieties available and I expect supplies to finish up around June.” According to…..

Agriculture researcher urges for diversity in banana varieties
According to a University of Alberta researcher crop diversity is needed in order to save bananas, one of the most popular fruits on the market. He is currently on his way to Africa to investigate the threat to the most common type of banana……

CPMA welcomes agri-food investment in federal budget
The Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) welcomes today’s federal budget and stated that it is ready to work with the federal government to improve the economy and the health of Canadians. “CPMA supports the government’s…..

Ocean Mist Farms announces passing of Albert Pieri
Ocean Mist® Farms sadly announces the passing of 90-year-old Albert Pieri, one of its original founders and a dedicated employee of nearly fifty years.Pieri was a pioneer in the early days of California Artichoke and Vegetable Growers, renamed…..

New food safety tool for produce wholesalers now available
Produce wholesalers and distributors now have a new tool to develop food safety plans that comply with FDA regulations under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).“Wholesalers face many of the same food safety regulatory challenges that…..

Sinclair’s Print on Demand™ wins AE50 Outstanding Innovations Award
The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) has named Sinclair® Print on Demand™ as a winner of the 2017 AE50 Outstanding Innovations Award. The AE50 awards program celebrates product innovation and engineering in…..

Paradigm shift in eggplant industry causes prices to fall
Prices have dropped more than half in the imported Mexican eggplant market. “This year pricing is extremely low. Normally we’re getting about $1.20-$1.30/lb. for eggplant and right now we’re around the $.50-$.60 cent mark which makes it…..

More than 40,000 pounds of apples given away
Rainier Fruit continues Boston Marathon sponsorship
In 2017 Rainier Fruit is running ahead with their continued partnership with the Boston Athletic Association as the official apple of the Boston Marathon.What began in 2016 as an effort to promote organic apples to a health focused crowed has…..

Chinese pear sales grow slowly in U.S.
Besides apples, Pacific Northwest growers also export pears and sweet cherries to China.China produced 250,000 metric tons of sweet cherries in 2015, ranking third in the world behind the U.S., at 307,000 metric tons, and Turkey, at 535,600…..

Italy: Pear stocks in mid-March 2017
Pear stocks in mid-March 2017 differ greatly depending on the varieties.While Abate pear stocks are more or less in line with 2016 (-5%), those of other cultivars are definitely lower.Such is the case with the Kaiser, in which European…..

Rik Spronk: “Besides mushrooms we also import limes and mangos”
Spronk Trading Holland moving to new location with wider assortment
As of Monday March 27 2017 Spronk Trading Holland will continue its activities in a new company building at the Appelhof in Deil. “We have been active for years as a national and international player in the mushroom market and we extended our…..

Flexibility in packing and logistics required
A.N. Boekel Handel BV is a commercial enterprise specialised in the import and export of, among other products, onions, potatoes, and outdoor vegetables. The company is located in Waarland, the centre of the horticultural area of North Holland……

Global interest in production boosts export of taproots
Can flowpack save chicory?
Chicory is available year-round, but is traditionally still seen as a winter product. Demand is good for this vegetable especially around the holidays. Consumption of chicory is decreasing. However, chicory nursery LOF thinks there are still…..

Sweden detects dangerous pesticide in Goji berries from the Netherlands
According to Hortoinfo, the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), has stated that the Swedish authorities have returned a batch of Goji berries from the Netherlands to the exporter.The Goji berries contained 0.033 milligrams of…..

Interseed becomes new shareholder of Breeders Trust
The seed potato breeding company Interseed Potatoes GmbH located at Wittmund Germany, recently became the newest shareholder of Breeders Trust.Breeders Trust supports its shareholders when it comes to monitoring and enforcement of the plant…..

German company offers alternative to plastic
DEG invests in packaging made of plants
Plastic packaging waste is one of the largest problems worldwide. The Indian government reacted to this problem by banning certain types of plastic packaging. However, a suitable alternative is not yet available on the Indian market. This…..

Acreage on the rise
Spain: Asparagus from Navarre arrives earlier
Navarre’s asparagus campaign has started a few weeks early due to the mild temperatures recorded in March and will probably last until late May. The official kick-off will be this Monday, 27 March, with the holding of the first asparagus…..

Up to 60% growth in the harvest
Spain: Rounder and heavier truffles in less time
In a market where the average price of the product can reach 300 to 600 Euro per kilo, one of the three most important truffle-growing companies in Spain has managed to obtain rounder and heavier truffles in a shorter period of time with the…..

Rainforest Alliance uses ChainPoint for data collection
The Rainforest Alliance has chosen ChainPoint, a software company from Arnhem active in making chains more sustainable, as the supplier of their new software platform. The new platform, called Marketplace 2.0, is used to collect important data…..

Qionghai Yuyue fruit and vegetable production and marketing
China: “Lamplight fruit” sales hot-wired
“In the past two years, our dragon fruit trees have entered their most productive phase and output this year is double that of 2016. Supply is up nationwide but prices have fallen by 10-15%, year on year,” said Feiyan Su, from the Qionghai…..

China: Mahjong tournaments in China’s fruit markets
Winners of the big mahjong tournamentOn March 21st 2017, the first USA’s Washington tournament in mahjong successfully took place in the Jiangnan wholesale market in Guangzhou (Guangdong province). Aproximately 110 people participated in the…..

New feeze-drying factory opens in Georgia
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili and Minister of Agriculture Levan Davitashvili opened the new factory and familiarised themselves with its production processes today.The new factory opened by Gemuani Ltd. is located in Zeda Etseri…..

Turkmenistan approves agricultural land zoning for fruit and veg
The President of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, approved a plan for the zoning of agricultural lands for the production of vegetable and tobacco crops for the current year.The document prescribes that the State Food Association of…..

India: Shortage of certifying agents hampering exports at Tiruchi airport
Tiruchi has seen robust growth in overseas cargo movement as of late but a lack of certifying agents is hampering some commodities and hindering exports from the international airport.Ever since the international air cargo terminal was…..

Australian councils debating regulations for blueberry farms
A number of New South Wales Mid North Coast councils are debating whether horticulture farmers should have to apply for development applications, as concerns around the regulation of the blueberry industry grow.A motion at Coffs Harbour City…..

New Zealand gets new 40m capacity kiwi grading line
Prime Minister Bill English started New Zealand’s largest automated kiwifruit grading and sorting line at EastPack’s Washer Rd site in Te Puke yesterday.The new 14-lane Compac grader is the first fruit sorter in the industry that is larger than…..

Queensland farmers prepare for category four cyclone
North Queensland farmers have awoken to relatively normal weather conditions ahead of Cyclone Debbie, which is expected to cross the coastline later today. Farmers in the Bowen area, which produces over 90 percent of Australia’s tomatoes are…..

Mohamed Ahmed, Agrogad Co. For Agricultural Development & Trade
Egypt: “The current peach volume cannot meet demand”
The peach harvest in Egypt has started a little earlier this year. “Although it is an early harvest, there is only a two-week difference compared to last year,” stated Mohamed Gad, manager at Agrogad Co. For Agricultural Development &…..

Ag products remain Western Cape’s leading export despite droughts
Despite recent challenges facing the Western Cape like widespread drought, agricultural products remain the dominant export commodity.According to a trade and investment document released on Thursday, the top exports from the Western Cape in…..

Ecuadorian firm opens window to the world for Latin American products
Fruit Megacorp is a platform in which, after a simple registration, producers and marketers can get in touch and conduct negotiations in a safe way thanks to the live chat service. “At Fruit Megacorp, we seek to promote Latin American…..

Global hazelnut market to be worth $12bn by 2026
A new report, titled “Hazelnut Market: Global Industry Analysis and Forecast, 2016-2026,” covers the global hazelnut consumption and breaks it down into two parts of the hazelnut; the kernel and the shell. In 2016, more than 90,000 metric tons…..

Maintaining freshness of grapes in-situ
India’s largest multinational flexible packaging materials and solution company, Uflex Limited, has been working with several grape growers internationally to demonstrate the benefits of Flexfresh liner bags.Flexfresh Liners use the natural…..

Lower risk ethylene application for fruit ripening available in Australia
More than forty years ago, Catalytic Generators started out in the US, specializing in the ethylene application for fruit ripening. It has long been the company’s goal to become involved in the ripening of high quality fresh produce in…..

Retail news

Amazon legally avoids $1.5bn tax bill | X5 Retail net profits up 50%
Tesco nearing deal on accounting scandal
US: Marsh to close Indiana storesTwo more Marsh stores will be closing in Indianapolis by the beginning of April. Marsh has already closed stores in Indianapolis since the beginning of the year. (theindychannel.com) Russia: X5 Retail…..